Printing process.



T. SFLEQXI PRINTING PROCESS. APPLIOATIOE FILED MAY 21, 1908.

a 744% J a M m/mvro/r B) ///s ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

screens are inl rposcd THOMAS S. FOX, 01? NEW YORK, N. Y.

PRINTING PROCESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

1 Patented Sept. 30, 35.9.13.

Application filed May 21, 1908. Serial E0. 434,207.

To all wia 0m 2 may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS S. Fox, a citizen of the United States, residing at 100 Park Place, borough of Brooklyn, rity of New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing Processes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the ac eompa'nying drawing.

My intention relates to improvements in a process for the treatment of printing surfaces and has to do with the formation, arrangementand relation of said surfaces,

Any printing surface adapted to receive and deposit ink at points and in quantities predetermined has the ad vantage of producing great range of finished color values such as in the thrcc color proccss where the delicute pink of a ortrait and the intermediate shades down to the solid red, are printed at one impression, whereas it produced from printingsurfacos not adapted to receive and deposit ink at points and in quantities predetermined, separate impressions would he required for the pink and the red which would appear in solid colors. and when two or more impressions, from printing surfaces adapted to rcccivc and deposit ink at points and in quantities predetermined, are made upon the same receiving surface, unless each color value is at a certain angle to other color values, ohji-ctimiablc geometrical effects known as 5 pattern result. (See United Stutcs licttrrs latcnt lo Kurtz 49s,:z90).

.In the three olor process, uniformly ruled during the 'n'cparation of the printing plalcs for the purpose of photographicalfv producing parallcl marks upon cach printing plate surface in such a manner that the marks produced by one printing surface in the picture are at an angle of from 20 degrees to 30 degrees to the marks produced by other printing plate Surfaces in the same picture. The commercial p ssibility of representing linished even tints of shades of different. colors in a picture by three impressions is due to the measured arrangen'ient of the marks to each other upon cach'priiiting' surface and the measured relation of the marks upon one printing surface to themarks upon other printing surfaces used in the production of the same picture. Dark effects are produced by printing yellow, red and hlue over each other,

and subjects having dark, sharp edged effects such as the rigging of ships, flag poles and bare tree branches are usually printed by successively applying these three colors and therefore require ex- 'ac-t register to prevent rainbow elfects. This three color half-tone process is unfittcd for newspaper work because the paper stretches anddestroys the register, and hecause colors printed over each other in rapid succession While moist, do not deposit well, resulting in brown smudge instead of black.

In my process I employ a black feature or What is known as a key printing surface,

plate or stone for the black parts, details,

and general modeling. This'kcy printing surface may connirise any kind of marks such as grain, dots, lines or stipples, but preferably comprises a half-tone plate produced hy a uniformly ruled screen, and one Which has been over-exposed or etched so that the dots printed small in the higher lights. In carrying out my process, thislialf-tonc plate may be produced in the usual Way from a subject, and a proof may be taken and colored by hand to serve as a guide or proof to show where and how much color is desirable in the printed suhjcct. I also prepare in the ordinary way upon other suitable surfaces, such duplicates of the key thereby are very as zinc, transferred planting surface, and upon these I mechanically model," fill in, treat, or mark prefcrahly by placing the various marks such as dots. as the disposition ofthc color on the color proof imlicatcs. By modeling, filling in, treating. or marking, I mean as an artist would modcla picture except that instead of using a brush, pencil or similar tool, the graduation of color or shades comprises marks of different sizes, forms or relative position, above stated. For this operation, I prefer to support a marking member or medium having arranged physical features, preferably such as a flexible, transparent film. (See United States Letters Patent to Day, 214,493and 250,211) and the surface of each zinc or other member to betreated or marked and used as a printing surface, in parallel planes and 'in such a manner that the angular relation of said marking member and said mom; her to be marked may 'alues be measiirahly changed and a relative lateral movement m1- m parted while they are in said parallel planes; that is to say, I may measurably rotate or measurably move in a straight line, either or both the marking member or the member to be marked, while said members are in parallel planes, and for this purpose it has been found convenient to use the apparatus set forth in my application for Letters Patent of the United States now pending and bearing the Serial Number 232,999. This enables me to definitely predctermiue an angle at which the rows of marks upon one surface will run to the rows of marks placed upon other surfaces which are to be used as printing members in the same picture, and I am also able to elongate any of said marks into lines running in the same direction as said rows of marks.

.Subjects such as I have mostly to do with have lights and shades, and as the marks that represent the light must be small, I may employ films whose design faces will mark small dots, and in proportion as the shades or tones increase in color value, I may shift either of the members so that the dots may be elongated until they connect with other dots forming lines, and to obtain still greater color values, said formed lines may be extended transversely or thickened, until they meet other lines, thereby forming solid masses. To insure exact harmony, the

marks or features of my films are preferably in parallel rows of right angle formation, equally spaced and of equal 'size.

In the production of a color job, say in four colors, such as red, yellow, blue and black, I prefer to do all of my marking'for the same job with a single-film, or several films having marks of the'same formation, arrangement and number to the inch. This rule may be varied, as for instance the surface of the zinc intended to print the yellow, or any other color, or two of such surfaces, may be marked or treated with a film having a different design face to the design face of'the film used for the other printing surfaces to be used in the same job. I also prefer that my half-tone key surface comprise the same number of marks to the inch as the number .of marks to the inch upon the marked or treated surfaces, but the number of marks to the inch upon the surface of an printing member may be a multiple of the number of marks to the inch upon the surface of any other printing member used in the same job.

I do not confine my process to the uniform arrangement of marks upon the surfaces of all the printing members to be used in the same picture, as it may be desirable to vary the composition of color value in some parts of a picture by arranging the marks upon some of the printing surfaces irregularly, as in stipple, and Where the uniform composition of the several surfaces to be used in the same picture, varies, so may the mannerip which some are produced. In fact, it may not be desirable at alltimes to have a strictly regular composition of color value throughout a picture and I do not limit myself to such composition, but I may use such composition of colors alone or in combination with irregularly combined color. I may also use a key plate composed of irregular lines as in a pen drawing, or a plate having dots, grains, stipples or marks of irregular formation; in such cases the color plates are preferably modeled with films havlng markng surfaces composed of regularly spaced dots at angles varying from 23 to 30 degrees.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a print of a boat scene produced from a key plate marked at 45' degrees and adapted to print the black as in-- dicated by the reference character 5. Fig. 2 is a print from a plate marked at degrees and adapted to print the yellow as indicated by the referencecharacter 6. Fig. 3 a print from a plate marked at 105 degrees and adapted to print the red as indicated by the lt'fCl'QllCO character 7. Fig. 4 a print from a plate marked at 15 degrees and adapted to print the blue as indivated by the reference character 8; all of said plates for the same colored job.

' In ,order to determine the arrangement and amount of COlOlWVhlCll should be deposin Figs. 2, 3 and 4, a print from the half- I tone key plate used in Fig. 1 is first colored by hand and used as a guide while modeling the other plates for the same job, after which each plate is successively applied with its respective ink in the production of the finished picture.

Various modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit of the inventiou.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The process of making multi-colored' surfaces consisting in preparing a key printing surface and three other printing surfaces having transfers of said key printing surface, producing marks on said key printing surface at an angle of about 45 degrees and producin the marks on said other three printing sur aces at angles of about 15, 75 and 105 degrees respectively, and printing from all of said printing surfaces.

2. The process of making multi-colored surfaces consisting in preparing a key print ing surface and three other printing urfaces having transfers of said key rint ng surface, producing one kind of mar s at an angle of about 45 degrees'onsaid key printing surface and pro ucing another kind of marks arranged at angles of about 15, 75

and 105 degrees respectivel on said other three printing surfaces, an printing from all of said printing surfaces.

3. The process of, making multicolored surfaces consisting in preparing a key printing surface and three other printing surfaces having transfers of saidkey rmting surface, producing one kind of mar s at an angle of about 45 degrees on said key rint-. ing surface and producing three other ds of marks arranged at angles of about 15, 75 and 105 degrees respectivel on said other three printing surfaces, an printing from all of said printing surfaces.

4. The process of making a niulti-colored picture misting in preparing a printing surface and three printing surfaces having transfers therefrom, producing marks upon each of said surfaces by the use of a rinting film, said marks upon any one 0 said surfacesat an angle of from about 23 \to about 30 degrees to the marks upon another of said sur aces, and printing from all of said printing surfaces upon said multicolored picture.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS S. FOX. 

